Chicagoan David Diaz, 29-1 (16KO's) travels to the Grand Victoria Casino in Rising Sun, Indiana this Saturday, December 10th to take on unbeaten Ramazan Palyani, 11-0, (5KO's) in a twelve round International Boxing Association Lightweight World Title bout. The star studded terrific evening of World Championship Boxing is presented by Dominic Pesoli's 8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING, Octavius James' ONE IN A MILLION INC., and THE GRAND VICTORIA RISING SUN CASINO in Rising Sun, Indiana.
 
This unique evening will feature legendary Hall of Fame trainer and HBO analyst Emanuel Steward, Hall of Fame boxing legend Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor Sr. and special guest emcee for the evening, Showtime's voice of professional boxing, the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr.  Pryor Sr. and Steward were both inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996. Steward, Pryor Sr. and Lennon Jr. will take time throughout the evening to take pictures and sign autographs for the fight crowd.
 
This event at the beautiful Grand Victoria Casino and Resort by Hyatt in Rising Sun marks the first ever World Championship Bout on a casino property in Indiana. Tickets, starting at $25 are on sale in advance by calling 1-800-Grand11, ext. 3, 1-866-438-7372 and 312-226-5800. Doors for this event open at 8pm with the first bout at 9pm.
 
The Grand Victoria Casino is located on Indiana 56 in Rising Sun, Indiana, 45 minutes southwest of Cincinnati, 90 minutes northeast of Louisville and 1 hour and 45 minutes southeast of Indianapolis.  For more information and  directions, please visit their website at www.grandvictoria.com.For more information on 8 Count Productions and David Diaz and also to view the poster for this event, please visit their website at www.8countproductions.com
 
Diaz, a 1996 U.S. Olympic teammate of world champions
Floyd Mayweather Jr., Fernando Vargas and David Reid and currently ranked # 8 by the World Boxing Organization is riding a three bout winning streak, most recently stopping former world champion Juan Polo Perez by third round technical knockout in the main event at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO on October 21, 2005. Prior to that, Diaz fought on the undercard of the huge HBO televised Fernando Vargas/Javier Castillejo event at the Allstate Arena, winning a decision over John Trigg before a hometown audience of over 10,000 Chicago fight fans.
 
The heavy handed Palyani, a bronze medalist in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain is coming off a gutty eight round decision win over tough veteran Rafael Ortiz on May 7, 2005 in which Palyani was able to win a unanimous decision despite being able to only use his right hand after his badly hurting his left hand early in the fight. The Palyani win took place at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Neveda on the undercard of the Showtime televised Diego Corrales/Jose Luis Castillo first fight, a legendary slugfest widely recognized as one of the greatest historical boxing matches by a large contingent of international media present at ringside.
 
The outstanding co-main event features two hot middleweight prospects as 2000 Olympian Dante "The Inferno"  Craig, 13-4 (10KO's) takes on hard hitting Chicago veteran, "Marvelous" Shay Mobley, " 12-4-1 (5KO's) in a scheduled six round bout. Craig has won his last four bouts including his last two at the Grand Victoria Rising Sun Casino. On August 6, 2005, Craig knocked out the previously undefeated James Morrow in the second round on the casino property. Mobley is currently riding a six fight winning streak.
 
Also on the undercard is the return to the ring of hot prospect Aaron Pryor Jr. 1-0 (1KO) of Cincinnati, OH in a scheduled four round middleweight bout. The 6' 4" Pryor is the son of Hall of Famer and boxing legend Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor. "The Hawk" was the junior welterweight champion from 1980 to 1985 knocking out Antonio Cervantes at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on August 2, 1980. Pryor defended the world title eleven times over a five year span including two legendary wins over former champion Alexis Arguello, the first of which was featured recently on the critically acclaimed HBO series "Legendary Nights" series, an epic battle which took place in front of over 60,000 fight fans at the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL on November 12, 1982. Pryor Sr. was inducted into the International Boxing
Hall of Fame in 1996, the same year as Emanuel Steward.
 
Pryor Jr. made his pro debut with a first round knockout over Dominique Azeez on August 13, 2005 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hill, Michigan.
 
Rounding out the undercard is a special attraction six round bout featuring lightweight prospect Octavio Lara, 5-2 (4KO's) of Detroit, Michigan against Gary, Indiana native, Joseph Pujo, 4-4-1 (1KO).
 
Lara is managed and trained by Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, owner of the legendary Kronk Gym in Detroit, Michigan. Steward has trained numerous world champions including Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De Le Hoya, Tommy Hearns, Leon Spinks, Aaron Pryor, Michael Moorer, Julio Cesar Chavez and most recently has worked with heavyweight champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. Steward is also a boxing analyst for HBO World Championship Boxing and widely respected as a noted boxing historian.
 
This year marks the twenty fourth year for the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr.'s announcing career in the boxing ring following in the footsteps of his world renowned father Jimmy Lennon, Sr.  Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in October 1998, Lennon was voted the World Best Ring Announcer by KO Magazine in 2001. Since 1981, Lennon has become internationally known as the voice of boxing with his trademark "It's Showtime" to get the evening rolling.
 
Creating Contenders Since 1997